AuthorTopic: Four Against Everest Redux (Read 6386 times)

Find and read a copy of Four Against Everest by Woodrow Wilson Sayre. Yes, he was the grandson of the 28th US president, but more relevant here, he was the first American to step foot on Everest. He led a clandestine attempt in 1962, following a route pioneered by George Lowe and Edmund Hillary in 1952. Crossing into Tibet via the Nup La from just south of Cho Oyu, he traveled down the West Rongbuk, past EBC and ABC, up to the North Col, and then another 800 meters toward Norton Couloir. He led three others, and despite failing to summit, the four returned without casualty to their Nepal base camp 43 days later, the only real measure of success on the big E. A Shackleton-esque tail of survival, Sayre's story is an American first and still a bible to superalpinists.

Could he have made it? Without oxygen, sherpas, fixed line, or strings of tents, the four had to depend on their wits and a precision of movement, rather than the plodding progression of seige-style mountaineering.

Redux means "re-led." That is what I hope to do. By re-enacting Sayre's 1962 expedition, I hope to show that he could have made it, or to escape again without casualty. All manner of details are on www.4everest.org. Think spring 2005, and join us. Two of the original four will be there, albeit not to summit, but as trekking guides for a team of supporters.

Sayre carried a 16mm Bolex film camera to 7800 meters on the North Face. I have his film, clips of which are on the web site, and I plan to film the re-enactment in HD. The goal is a documentary film to win Banff! I'd settle for filming from his high point, but I'd like the closing shots to be from 8850 meters.

I am still looking for a couple dedicated climbers who believe they can go all the way on a route that is NOT the easiest way up Everest. Read the book, the site, and consider joining us for an adventure of a lifetime!